Will ex-USC signee Bru McCoy be granted eligibility to play for Texas in 2019? Here are 3 factors to consider

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SAN ANTONIO, TX - JANUARY 05: Wide receiver Bru McCoy (5) runs the ball during the All-American Bowl on January 05, 2019 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Daniel Dunn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

With national signing day in the rearview mirror, Texas still has unfinished business in its class of 2019.

The decision of elite recruit Bru McCoy to switch from Southern California to Texas helped the Longhorns vault into No. 3 spot in the 247Sports composite team rankings. Projected as a receiver, McCoy spent a couple of weeks enrolled at USC before being released from his national letter of intent and transferring to Texas.

But because of that short stay in LA, he must request a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible this coming season.

Expect to hear how Kliff Kingsbury's decision to leave USC as offensive coordinator to become the Arizona Cardinals coach affected McCoy and the way he would be used. USC had yet to fill the OC position -- it later hired UNT's Graham Harrell -- before McCoy left.

Another key factor will be the reworked NCAA standard focusing on the "health, safety and well-being of the student-athlete."

While trying to read what the NCAA might do in any situation is like to trying decipher the ancient Sumerian language, here are three things to consider.

The Justin Fields decision

The former Georgia quarterback was recently granted immediate eligibility at Ohio State after transferring following his freshman season.

SMU QB outlook for 2019: Shane Buechele may be exactly what the Mustangs ordered

While encouraging for Texas and McCoy, the situation is not necessarily an-apples-to-apples comparison. Fields stayed a full season at Georgia. He also was the subject of racial taunts by a Bulldogs’ baseball player during the game, although it’s unknown if that was part of his appeal.

The trend line

It’s not just the high-profile cases like Fields that are being approved. The Associated Press reported last month that nearly 80 percent of the Division I football waiver requests (50 of 63) were granted by the NCAA in the last year.

No pushback from USC

In the case of Shea Patterson’s transfer from Mississippi to Michigan last year, there was initial resistance. USC hasn’t shown a public inclination to challenge.

“Bru’s situation, it was one that was personal,” USC coach Clay Helton told reporters on signing day, adding that McCoy was a “phenomenal person. Phenomenal athlete. Wish him nothing but the best.”

Based on the Fields case, Texas could find out sometime during spring practice, which starts March 11 with the spring game April 13.